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A back injury has forced goalkeeper Chris Kirkland to withdraw from Fabio Capello’s England squad to face France this week.

West Ham’s Robert Green is added to the party set to travel to Paris for Wednesday’s friendly.

Wigan goalkeeper Kirkland played throughout the 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat against Blackburn but has since reported discomfort, after appearing to injury himself early on at Ewood Park.

Green becomes the second goalkeeper to be added to the squad, with Tottenham’s Paul Robinson called up following an injury to Aston Villa’s on-loan Liverpool man Scott Carson.

Of the three initially selected, only Portsmouth’s David James managed to come through his weekend assignment unscathed – in a 2-0 defeat against Robinson’s Spurs at White Hart Lane.

England boss Capello will continue assessing his players this week as he looks to instil the winning mentality he feels is needed for the World Cup qualifying campaign and beyond.

Capello has been busy watching games since his appointment in December and also had the friendly against Switzerland to get a feel of what he has to work with.

With France providing the next test, Capello admits he is still on a learning curve.

“It is my challenge, but it is a challenge we need to meet together – the players and I,” said the Italian.

“This is the job I have set out to achieve, and I have five friendly games at my disposal before the competitive games. This is a challenge – and as for every challenge, in order to reach your targets you need to understand where you are going to operate when you need to work.”